OK, I've given up. After greasing, soaking, spitting, soaping, and spraying my bushings, THEY STILL SQUEAK, DAMN IT!!! Its driving me freaking bonkers!!!

So I find this site,

http://www.energysuspension.com/swaybb.html

and they have universal greased bushings.

Ahhhh!! Bushings from the Lord himself!!!! But I need to know the diameter of the bar. Does anyone have this information?

Thanks in advance.

-Left

 

You should have bought the "STEALIN" one ....LOL !!!..Thats ok, you can sell it to me.. !

 

2 years now and my Addco RSB is silent

 

The Addco on my 4th gen is 7/8" diam. Don't know if the 5th gen is the same bar though.

P.S. 35K mi on my RSB and no squeaks. (bushings cracked a bit though)

 

Me too. In fact, I lubricated my Addco once trying to kill a squeek/rattle. Turned out the rattle was in the trunk.


LeftCoast, I don't know if this will help, but when I installed my RSB, I screwed the bolts on so damn tight, those U shaped bushing mounts and the straight ones actually bent towards each other. I figured that they gotta deal with all the weight of the rear end shifting around, so the tighter the better.

Also, my RSB came with Polyurethane bushings. I think the older addcos had rubber with optional poly. Maybe yours are rubber?

DW

 

Don't temp me.... I'm getting to that point

 

I tried the same thing then I thought..Hey they're too tight..the bushings can't breath....so I loosened them....then I uninstalled the entire assembly and coated them with silicone....then I adjusted their positions on the bar...then I cursed...then I urinated on them...then I cursed again...then I posted this message.

 

Just curious here. If you have the bar, can't you just measure it?

 

Certainly..but I'd prefer to have an accurate assessment as the difference between 7/8" and 13/16" is pretty minute.

 

There's your answer right there. Tighten them up and I'm sure your squeeks will go away. Bushings don't need breathing, or flexing room. The flex is coming from the bushing material itself.

DW

 

I've had my Addco RSB installed for over a year now, it has never been removed...not one squeak or noise...

 

Alright..I'll torque them down again, but I've gone through this evolution already. I loosen them a bit to verify a change in the squeak. But it seemed to remain the same. I'll get a damn breaker bar and really tighten those annoying little %&$^&#*'s tonight.

 

Whoah, breaker bar?? That sounds like massive torque. Take it easy. Just a ratchet will do. Ratchet it down real tight. Bend the steel bushing mounts together

DW

 

Wait, WAIT, the www.addco.net site says NOT to overtighten them or they'll make noise. They just have to be snug, and just use some washers to space it out properly. That should eliminate any play but still let them be loose enough not to squeak... hopefully.

Also, I've read from other ppl installing sway bars that they've put teflon tape between the bar and bushing (wrapped). But not teflon AND grease. Any thoughts on this? I'll be trying this route.

 

The Maxima RSB is not your typical anti-sway bar. On most other cars, the RSB ends attach to the rear axle and the middle of the bar attaches to the chassis. As the axle moves up and down, the bar pivots inside the bushings on the chassis. A dry urethane bushing here will definately cause squeaks.

Both the ADDCO and Stealin RSB act more like an axle stiffner. They don't attach to the chassis, so when the axle moves up and down, there is no pivoting.

I think you ought to look elsewhere for that squeak.

 

I understand what your saying, but it is a distinct sounding low pitch squeak. It resembles the sound the tires make when turning the wheels in the garage. Believe me, its the bushings. I will try different tensions on the bolts tonight. (Just kidding about the breaker bar)

 

Well, I don't get a squeak on my Maxima's Addco RSB, but the Addco RSB and FSB on my '76 MGB sure did squeak. I drilled and tapped the bushing brackets for grease zerks. I drilled a hole and then cut a groove on the inside of the bushings to distribute the grease. A once-a-year shot of bearing grease has kept them quiet.

 

What kind of lube are you using? I used formula 5 prelube I purchased from suspension.com on my addco bushings. http://www.suspension.com/4-bar.htm (near the bottom of the page).

I've tried using teflon tape on my old Integra when I installed a set of ST swaybars. It still made the squeaking sound (like rubbing your fingers over a ballon). Its best to use polyurethane-specific lube.

 

My Addco RSB is silent as well, after 2 years of use. Anyway I find that Trailer ball grease is an excellent lube. It wont break down to water/road grime at all.

 

my addco RSB makes the same noise (after 3 months of use). i sprayed some WD-40 just to confirm the squeak is coming from the RSB today and sure enough, most of the noise is gone. BTW, don't use WD-40 (bad idea)...i lubed with WD-40 just for testing purposes only. my front control arm bushings finally came in (after six months of waiting from energy suspension) so i'm installing those at the same time i'll grease the RSB bushing with the same silicon grease for polyurthene bushing. it should be done by monday! i'll post a update then.

jhlee

 

OMG you just got your bushings We were discussing those back in 2001

 

Mine makes a noise too, but not squeeking. Mine sounds like the bar is hitting something under my car whenever I drive over a bump. My friend thinks I have a dead body in the car. Any advice?

 

yeah, energy suspension took their time making these. looks like they waited until they had enough orders before making these since a lot ppl have ordered them since then. last year i only got the endlink and swaybar bushings replaced.

jhlee

 

Yeah, crawl under and move the brackets appx 2-3" in from the curve. If you look under, you will probably see what it's banging on (adjust accordingly). Mines doing the same thing. They will be adjusted tomorrow, assuming it doesn't keep raining.

 

I have my addico installed for about 2 weeks not and I havn't heard a squeak out of them. Although they are installed pretty tight. Do bushings need to be lube regularly?

 

ok so the brackets that you can see easily from the back, i should adjust those 2-3 inches away from the curve? This things been annoying me for months.

 

Yes, the brackets on the beam.

Due to rain, I have not had a chance to fix mine yet. From what I understand, you should be able to see what the bracket is hitting and moving these 2-3" further in on the passenger side will solve the problem.

 

Just an update....I tried different tensions on the bolts and still no joy... I'm tempted to get the Stillen just because of all the time I've spent on this damn thing.

 

To fix the suspension clunk problem, the passenger side mount should be moved 4-4.5" in from the curve. See pic below.

suspension

 

just got my control arm bushings replaced and greased the RSB bushings. The noise from the RSB is completely gone. I'm not sure if this is a permanent fix, but for now I hear now squeaking noise so I'm happy.